Pittsburgh, Pa. – The Duquesne University men's soccer team snapped a two-game slide Tuesday, finding the back of the net three times in the second half en route to a 3-1 victory over Detroit Mercy in a non-conference match at Rooney Field. The Dukes improved to 6-2-2 (.700) thanks to the win.
 
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Scoreless through 45 minutes, Duquesne got on the board just over two minutes after halftime. Redshirt senior Pepo Bravo, in his first collegiate start, lifted a cross to the near-side corner that found senior Ashton Jell. Some fancy footwork from Jell preceded a perfect pass into the box, with Roni Badler crashing the net and tapping in the first goal of the contest into the left corner of the net to give the Dukes the lead at 47:09. It marked the team-high fourth strike of the season for the sophomore forward.
 
THE FINAL APPROACH
Duquesne continued to stay on the attack after the opening goal, scoring twice within the span of two-and-a-half minutes to take control. Sophomore Ofek Sasson provided a long outlet pass that saw classmate Bendix Bennetzen tap it right to midfielder Miles Imparato, who was racing down the near sideline. Detroit Mercy (4-5-1) goalkeeper Colin Monroe committed to coming out to try and slow the play down, but Imparato sliced a perfect shot that found the lower right corner of the net at 68:26 to extend the advantage for the Dukes to 2-0. Imparato completed a three-point night at 71:07, connecting with redshirt junior Jaxon Ervin, who scored to match Badler in team-high accolades for goals this season with his fourth.
 
QUOTABLE
"We've been talking about getting our momentum back and our consistency back in our performance," head coach Chase Brooks said. "Tonight was overall much better. At halftime, I complimented them on the energy that they brought in the first half, and I challenged them to step up even one more level. That's not necessarily an easy thing to do. This group is a very competitive group. We walk into the locker room and they're already solving a lot of the problems. That's very helpful as a coaching staff."
 
NOTES
The Titans settled the scoring at 82:27 when Drew Pierson scored on a penalty kick after a foul in the box … In addition to Bravo earning his first starting assignment, junior Daman Sangha received his first NCAA Division I start on the backline and played a full 90 minutes for the first time in his career … Sangha entered the contest having played 104 minutes total … Bravo and freshman Alex Posada each also logged 90 minutes … The goal for Ervin helped him match his point total (10) from last season in seven fewer games … Detroit Mercy owned a 9-8 advantage in shots, with the Dukes leading in shots on target, 5-4 … Duquesne led in corner kicks, 6-4 … Redshirt senior goalkeeper Diego Chavez made three saves in his return to the lineup … Ervin posted three of Duquesne's eight shots, while Badler notched a pair.
 
QUOTABLE
"We go to Saint Joe's and started eight guys that are sophomores or younger, and it was a learning moment for the group in that sense," Brooks said. "You just can't show up on an away game and expect things to happen. You have to go take it and put forth the energy. What you saw better tonight, the energy was there. It was back to more of who we are."
 
UP NEXT
Duquesne is off for over a week, returning to the pitch Wednesday, Oct. 8, with a 7:00 p.m. match at Rhode Island. It opens a two-game swing that will also see the Dukes visit Fordham Saturday, Oct. 11.
 
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